Elena and Malea Visit -- Days 8 & 9

5th - It is still oh so cold out.  I am so sad that the weather is not cooperating with the girls stay.  They didn't bring warm coats and stuff so it is hard to be out when it is freezing.  Drat.  I guess it's time for another craft and some games.  We will enjoy the day no matter what.  I gave Elena a modeling magic gift for Christmas and this is as good a time as any to make it.  She has to push the different colors into the spaces and make them fill the area.  It takes most of the morning but her finished product is amazing when we flip it over.  So pretty, yes?



While she does that, Malea and I are playing and then she hauls the blocks over to the door and dumps them.  After some not so happy moments, she is now picking them up so that Grandpa doesn't kill himself when he gets home.  Ah - two year olds.  The thing is that once she figures out that she has to do it anyway, then she is all smiles and sweet as can be.  I have lovingly referred to her this week as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the transformation is astounding to say the least.

When Grandpa gets home her day is now 100 times better.  Oh she does love him.

It's time to make dinner and Malea wants to see what we are having.  As usual, she is starving and ready to get into her chair instantly.  She wants to smell the corn so I oblige.  After dinner, we decide to make some jello and some pudding.  Everyone gets to help with both of them and woohoo -- we have finally overcome the fear of sitting on the counter with Gammy.

Back to Grandpa - he's actually way more fun than I am.  Grandpa takes over with Malea while Elena and I get her schoolwork finished.  She has these flashcards with sight words on them and tonight I showed her that she could make small sentences all by herself.  She was amazed and soon putting some good ones together and leaving a blank for words she may not have had sometimes.  Awesome.  She is doing great with her reading and loves it as well.  Double bonus.

6th - Finally!!!!  We have a nice day forecast so the girls and I are off to the zoo.  We get picked up right at the house by DART and taken to the train.  With only a few minutes to wait, we are soon making our way to the south edge of Dallas and our beloved zoo.  I let Elena stand on the train as long as she holds on so that she can watch what is coming up ahead.  Soon we are in the tunnels and Malea keeps asking where the light went.

Everyone knows that Mister and I love the zoo and go as often as we can, but it is a joy to me when the little ones make that request as well.  It seems as though this year, we have had some really fun babies to watch at the zoo and I am hoping the girls get to see them as well.  Keep your fingers crossed.

We decide to go to the savanna side first and as we emerge from the tunnel, the mandrills are out and guess what?  Yay -- our first baby to watch.  The girls watch him for quite awhile before they are ready to move onto the savanna.  Naturally, the first stop MUST be for pictures on the elephants.  I think it would be fun to make a collage of these over the visits and watch the changes in the girls.

As we come to the elephants, Jenny is right up close enough for the girls to really watch her as she eats.

Ya gotta stick your hand in the lions mouth, right?  She was pretty scared to try but soon gave it a shot.  I love it when he growls and the speed with which they all pull their hands out.  Too funny.

Onto the giraffes and ANOTHER baby is spotted.  Yay, this is our day.  I guess we need to go and feed these beauties.  After all, that is the highlight of this area.  Malea is not afraid at all to feed him and fortunately one of the taller giraffes is out today so he could reach right down to her.  Perfect.  That way I can take a picture since I don't have to hold her.

Elena's turn and she stretches it out into several feedings by breaking her cracker.  Someone is waiting patiently for her.

We take one last look at the rest of the giraffes before heading over to see if we can spot some of the predator cats.  The cheetahs are out sunning themselves and every so often glance at the girls as they move around to see them better.  Coat on, coat off is taking place as the day warms up and we are in the sun, but then return to shady areas.  Now where should we go?  Elena says "gorillas".  Okay let's try.  Sometimes they are elusive, but not today.  We no sooner enter their area than she spots one posing, then walking away.  I am not so quick with the camera and just catch the departure.

We walk up to the research station and spot several gorillas nearby.  As we are approaching, we keep hearing this really loud banging sound.  And I mean, really loud.  It makes me jump and the girls look at me with a bit of fear.  Inside the station, it is all explained to us.  This wonderful male, who is once again posing for us, has been placed on this side of the habitat with all the females for breeding purposes.  He is new to the zoo.  The two sides of the habitat are separated with this very large metal wall that can be opened.  The other males (which we saw while walking up) are on the other side and this single gorilla keeps running at the wall and jumping high on it to band on it with his hands.  It's amazing.  We are told that he is claiming territory and that gorillas see loud noises as a form of their own power.  Since he can make such a loud noise, he IS powerful both to himself and to the others.

What a fun experience and I am so glad we are able to be a part of it.  Elena LOVED watching him run at the wall and bang on it.  She'd jump and then giggle.

Next stop is the chimpanzees and I am so hoping to spot the little one.  As we walk up to the exhibit and the girls are watching through the window I notice the mama chimp bringing her baby up for us to see.  Malea is crouching down by the window and I am not near fast enough with the camera, but the baby walks right up to the window and matches their hands directly together through the window.  I catch the picture after Malea has moved hers. They stare at each other for awhile before other adults crowd around and then the mama comes and takes the baby away again.  She felt safe with Malea and Elena -- I stayed in the background -- and she wasn't near so happy with adults being that close.  What a choice moment.

There are complaints of hunger.  Well, dang.  I guess it is lunch time.  We grab a quick bite to eat before it is time to check out a bit of the other side while we still have time.  We have to catch our train before our tickets run out.

On the other side, the sun is shining and the wildfowl are taking advantage of it.  This picture is taken with my phone and no zoom whatsoever.  These guys are literally within inches of us and not at all worried as the warmth just feels oh so good to them.

After checking out the koalas, kangaroos, and tigers, we come to the otters.  And we score again.  The baby otter is out playing.  The girls get to watch him both in and out of the water for quite awhile.  So fun.

Elena is not a fan of birds so we skip feeding them (I know, so sad) and it is time to leave anyway.  Oh wait, we still need to ride the promised carousel.  I let Elena choose her animal and the cheetah wins hands down.  Malea just keeps saying, "ride the rilla".  So cute.

As we are leaving the carousel, the keepers have flamingos loose right near the exit so we stop to say high and Elena is brave even though birds scare her.

There are at least 6 of the flamingos walking around and they squawk so loud that it scares her away each time.  They are not being aggressive, just saying hi, but still - she backs off.  It's time to go, the train will be here any minute so we say good-bye to the zoo until next time.  Time to go home.  It's been a super fun morning and by the time we get home (it takes about an hour to get there) and have a little quiet time, Grandpa will be there for nightly playing.

Spaghetti for dinner and someone truly enjoying her THIRD plate of it.  Oh my.